Conscious Nutrition and Health

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SILENT INFLAMMATION

A common risk factor in most chronic diseases and how it is modifiable by diet.

Chronic diseases also called non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, obesity, respiratory disease and diabetes are the cause of 3 out of 5 deaths in the world today according to the World Health Organization. Throughout history, infectious diseases have been the big killers, but today with our advances in medicine and hygiene, it is the non-infectious diseases that have become our biggest threat. In some ways they are even more dangerous because they can be happening insidiously. The good news it, it’s also scientifically proven that most of these diseases are improvable by diet and lifestyle modifications.

There are a number of other chronic conditions that are also prevalent and improvable and though they don’t often directly cause mortality, they have significant impacts on the health and life of a huge portion of the population. These are chronic conditions like IBS, crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, arthritis, psoriasis and eczema, chronic digestive issues, insomnia and mood disorders, PCOS, endometriosis and thyroid conditions.

Harvard researchers have suggested that the one common theme that underlies all of these chronic health conditions is unchecked silent body wide inflammation.

So what is inflammation?

Inflammation occurs when our immune system kicks into gear in response to an infectious or non-infectious stimulus, and it’s the body’s way of protecting us. Infectious stimuli could be bacteria, virus, fungi or yeast. Non-infectious stimuli could be burns, cuts, trauma, chemicals or toxins, cell mutation or damage or stress.

Inflammation comes in two versions, which can make the topic a little confusing, and I have realized that it is not well understood. We are constantly hearing about reducing inflammation and without understanding it this can make it sound like all inflammation is bad. This is actually not the case.

The first version of inflammation is acute inflammation. This is when we get a cut or a wound and it goes all hot, red and a little swollen around the area. This is the body sending in all the blood, nutrients and immune cells that it can to stop the cut getting worse or getting infected. This is good inflammation, without it, you could bleed out or die of infection. Another example is if you get a cold, your nose blocks up or starts running, and you you might get a fever. This is your body getting to work to eliminate the bacteria or virus that has infected you. Again, this is good inflammation. Its sudden, its quick and its short-lived.

The second version of inflammation is more insidious, it is chronic or silent inflammation and it is the agreed common risk factor between many chronic health complaints. Silent inflammation is triggered usually by a substance, perhaps a pathogen or a toxin that the body can’t breakdown or deal with. Wherever this substance gets to in the body it does a little bit of damage, this causes inflammation which is often undetected. Because you body has not had a huge and obvious reaction, you might not know that this damage is occurring so it keeps happening, over and over again. The immune system can never stop producing this silent inflammatory response because the trigger is always there. Over time this causes more and more damage to organs, systems or  tissues in the body which then start to present with more obvious signs and symptoms. So, for example, with arthritis, the damage happens to the joint tissue, slowly and over time this damage starts to show up as painful swollen joints. But by the time you are experiencing symptoms, this inflammation has been going on for potentially a very long time.

Which tissues or organs in the body are attacked can be some what dependent on genetic differences and a variety of other reasons. This is why no matter what the condition, you might find that the answers are often very similar and they all revolve around reducing inflammation and removing whatever is causing it in the first place.

The fact that the damage can be happening for a long time undetected is a reason why even if we can just isolate the cause and remove it, the signs and symptoms don’t just go away instantly. These signs and symptoms are not a result of the inflammatory substance that got into your body today, but a result of long term damage from a substance that has been there for too long. Removing the inflammatory factors is the first step, then calming inflammation with anti-inflammatory foods and diets is the beginning of the process which moves the body back into a healing phase where instead of focusing on the defense it can focus on repairing the damage that has been done.

How does AUTO-IMMUNITY fit here?

In the most basic form auto-immunity occurs when the body’s immune system has been being triggered for a long time, by some undetected substance. The immune system is constantly pumping out immune cells to destroy this substance, and eventually it all gets messy and they start attacking the body’s own cells. It’s like soldiers being taken out by friendly-fire, it’s not meant to happen but in the confusion of the moment accidents happen. Auto-immunity is also not something you are born, with it develops over time, so just because you don’t have it now doesn’t mean it isn’t brewing, which is really a stop and think truth bomb.

Long-term effects of silent inflammation

When inflammation is present in the body and not being minimized, damage can slowly happen to body tissues, organs and systems until we begin to present with an array of symptom’s and we may end up with a diagnosis of a known condition, such as IBS or diabetes, hypertension etc. It is important to remember however that the road in to somewhere is generally always the road out, so if silent inflammation led to a condition, then treating the inflammation, the root cause, is going to be the first place to start to manage it. There is no point treating the symptoms when they are just a result of the underlying problem.

It is also recognized that as inflammation goes on, it can cause problems in multiple systems of the body at one time, including the nervous system, hormonal/endocrine system, immune system and reproductive system. This means that we can end up with other health conditions that are essentially a side effect of the first condition which is a side effect of the inflammation. And so, we get this terrible snowball effect in our health that can be very disheartening.

Risk factors for silent inflammation

  • Age: levels of inflammatory molecule in the body naturally increase with age for various reasons.
  • Obesity: fat tissue is known to produce inflammatory molecules, especially visceral fat which is found on the belly and around internal organs.
  • Diet: diets high in sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed damaged fats are connected to higher levels of inflammation.
  • Low sex hormones: sex hormones can actually help to dampen the effect of inflammation, so anything that causes unnaturally low levels or nutrient deficiency’s that impair production can be a risk factor.
  • Stress and sleep disorders: stress not only disturbs sleep, it contributes to production of inflammatory molecules. People who sleep less for a huge variety of reasons often have higher levels of inflammation.

Common signs and symptoms of inflammation

  • Body pain – in specific areas or all over
  • Chronic fatigue and inability to sleep
  • Anxiety, depression and mood disorders
  • Digestive issues such as bloating, pain, nausea, gas, diarrhoea or constipation
  • Acid reflux
  • Increased weight, or sudden weight loss
  • Frequent infections such as sinus infections, ear infections, colds and flu, wounds that don’t heal etc.
  • Rashes, skin redness, rosacea, skin irritation, eczema, psoriasis

INFLAMMATION IS NOT A DISEASE IN AND OF ITSELF, IT IS THE WARNING LIGHT THAT DAMAGE IS OCCURRING.

What causes silent inflammation?

The triggers of inflammation are as vast as it is possible to be, another reason why it is such a significant problem. These may include:

  • High sugar intake
  • Lack of sleep
  • High refined carbohydrate diets
  • Smoking
  • Exposure to environmental toxins
  • Chronic stress and anxiety
  • Being overweight
  • Lack of regular exercise

There are also some foods which are highly problematic for a lot of people and can set up the cascade that leads to chronic inflammation and health disorders.

The most common one is wheat and in particular gluten.  A lot of people stick to a gluten free diet for various reasons these days. We have all heard about Celiac Disease which is an auto-immune condition triggered by gluten. There is an even larger portion of the population can have what is known as non-celiac gluten sensitivity. This is thought to be due to a lack of the enzymes or digestive juices to break down either the carbohydrate portion or gluten, the protein portion in the wheat. This results in digestive discomfort symptoms that are hard to differentiate from conditions like IBS, such as bloating, gas, nausea, fluctuation bowel habits, diarrhoea, and constipation. There may also be other symptoms such as skin rashes, headaches, brain fog, anxiety, muscle, and joint pain.

Then there is the fact that it is now known thanks to the work of Dr. Alessio Fassano, world renowned paediatric gastroenterologist , that when the gut lining is exposed to wheat gluten, it causes a protein called zonulin to be released into the intestines. This happens to everyone, not just those with a known wheat or gluten sensitivity. Zonulin causes the tight junctions, or the glue that holds our intestinal cells together to open up. When these spaces open up, large pieces of partially digested food or ingested toxins and pathogens can enter into our blood stream where they can cause an immune response and ultimately inflammation. The more zonulin in our body, the more these tight junctions open, the worse the problem can get. This can become what is called “leaky gut” and itself can be a key and very common cause of silent inflammation.

So aside from celiac disease there are two major accepted ways that wheat and gluten can be a culprit when it comes to silent inflammation.

  1. In some people it is not able to be broken down due to enzyme or digestive acid deficiency meaning it can do damage to body tissue and result in allergy like symptoms which if not stopped can be a cause of silent inflammation.
  2. It causes the increase of zonulin (in all people) which opens up the tight junctions allowing unwanted food particles and pathogens into the blood which damage tissue, can trigger other food allergies and cause silent inflammation.

Wheat is a significant factor because not only is it in nearly everything we eat and rely on to feed our families these days, it is also often highly refined and high in carbohydrates which is a risk factor of its own.

This is one of the biggest reasons why my advice to most people if they want to see improvement of their weight or health is to cut out the wheat and focus on eating meat and vegetables which are highly nutritious and packed with natural anti-inflammatories.

How do we reduce silent inflammation and regain our health?

The good news is that inflammation can be decreased by simple but consistent changes to our diet and our lifestyle. These changes may include:

  • Stop eating wheat – at least for a time
  • Avoid added sugars
  • Eat a lower carbohydrate, healthy fat, adequate protein diet
  • Eat more vegetables
  • Eat only good quality proteins and fats
  • Avoid processed seed and vegetable oils
  • Reduce stress by techniques like meditation, deep breathing and mindfulness
  • Prioritize sleep – like seriously
  • Get regular gentle exercise daily – even just a 20-30 min walk outside
  • Increase intake of anti-inflammatory foods and herbs like turmeric, ginger, berries, leafy greens, oily fish,
  • Avoid unnecessary environmental toxins by choosing natural skin care and cleaning products
  • Drink plenty of water

Let’s wrap this up?

First and foremost it is important to remember that inflammation is not bad, it’s not some evolutionary defect out to get you.  It’s simply a mechanism your body uses to do what it is designed to do, to move back to a place of wholeness, to heal.  We just need to recognize it, and remove the triggers along with supplying all the wonderful nutrients or building blocks out body needs to heal. Then we need to get out of a the way and let our body get on with doing what it does so well.

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